Washington--Private schools will be able to compete on a more equal
footing with public schools for access to surplus land or property
being given away by the federal government, under rules expected to be
issued this month by the Education Department.

The new rules will affect a little-known federal program under which
46 pieces of property worth $12 million have been conveyed to local and
state agencies and governments for educational purposes in the past
five years.

Established by the Congress in 1949 and run by the General Services
Administration, the program allows local and state governments or their
agencies, including school systems, to use surplus federal land and
structures.

As long as the land or property is being used according to
guidelines established upon receipt, and is not being used to generate
revenue, the federal government charges little or nothing for its use.
After 30 years, the agency or institution that was using the land or
property assumes ownership of it, if it has not already bought the
property outright.

One school system that has benefited from the program is the Gadsden
district in Anthony, N.M., which a few years ago got four vacant
buildings from a nearby military base for use as language-learning
centers in the district's Chapter 1 program.

The surplus-property program also has helped establish university
agricultural-research centers in the West by making thousands of acres
available for farming, and has turned unused post offices and other
buildings into city libraries.

When property becomes available under the program, applicants must
show how their use of it would benefit the public good. If more than
one agency or institution applies, each is graded on a 100-point scale
to determine which will obtain use of the property.

Under the rules previously in effect, public schools started out
with a 20-point advantage over any private school also applying for the
property.

Private-school officials had complained about the preferential
treatment of public schools, according to Education Department
officials, who say their new regulations will even the playing field by
dropping the 20-point bonus for public schools.

Officials note, however, that only a handful of properties become
available each year, and competition for them is relatively
uncommon.

In the 1990 fiscal year, a total of nine properties worth $3 million
were turned over to local agencies for educational purposes.

David B. Hakola, who administers the education portion of the
program for the Education Department's office of management services,
said the new regulations also will make the program more "user
friendly" by outlining a recipient's responsibilities from the time it
assumes the property to the time the property is no longer in the
program.

Before a property can be given away, however, a long process must be
completed.

Once a federal agency decides it no longer needs a parcel of land or
a building, it notifies the gsa, which then informs other federal
agencies of the availability of the property.

If no other federal office is interested in buying the property and
the gsa determines that it cannot be used to help the homeless, the
agency can try to sell the property on the open market.

Alternatively, the gsa can declare the property "surplus" and
determine suitable uses for it. The gsa then notifies such federal
agencies as the departments of Education, Interior, and Health and
Human Services, depending on the suitable uses.

Other than education, surplus property is also to be used under the
law for purposes of health, recreation, wildlife conservation, housing,
transportation, and preservation of historic monuments.

The federal agencies in turn notify local, county, and state
agencies, which then competitively apply for use or purchase of the
property. Education-related applicants must first win approval by the
Education Department and then be granted use of the property by the gsa
over competing uses.

The department or agency awarded the property must use it as
intended in the application and is subject to yearly reviews and
on-site inspections. The gsa may suspend a conveyance at any time if
the receiving body is found not to be in compliance.

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